The present invention relates to a coagulation clamp having clamp jaws and having two projections that load the jaws directly or indirectly and that can be pivoted relative to one another at a common joint with the aid of hand grips, said projections being coated or covered at least partly with insulating material in the area of the joint, and each being connected directly or indirectly with a high-frequency terminal and insulated from one another in the joint, and the projections are situated near the joint openings, through which a joint axle or runs.
Such coagulation clamps are known. As a rule, the high-frequency terminals are provided at the hand grips. As an axle for the joint, a screw provided with an insulating coating is often used with which the two clamp jaws are also fastened to one another in pivotable fashion at their hand grips. Due to the pivoting motions executed during use, the insulating coating of the joint axle can be damaged, and this can make the coagulation clamps unusable.
Various types of clamps are typically used. Tube-shaft clamps or pincers are used for endoscopic operations, and pincers having jaws are used in open surgical applications. The demands made on the joint in these different types of pincers or clamps are various. In endoscopic clamps, the pressure that can be applied to the joint is lower, and lateral shear forces rarely occur.
In the clamps having jaws for open surgery, the pressure that can be applied to the joint through the lever action of the relatively long grip leg and the long front part is higher. In addition, there is also the possibility of working laterally and exerting a lateral pressure or pulling, so that shear forces occur in the joint that must be intercepted by the construction in order to avoid a loosening of the joint.
Bipolar forceps have also long been known, and have proven their worth in situations of coagulation, in particular in the closing of bleeding vessels during operations in all types of surgery. The problem of an insulated joint axle whose insulation can become damaged over the course of time, in particular if shear forces also occur, does not exist here, because the forceps jaws are each pivoted against the force of a spring. However, due to the spring tension that is predetermined in these forceps jaws, they are not suitable for the execution of spreading motions at the operating location during preparation. In such a forceps, an individual spreading pressure cannot be exerted by hand. Thus, for a preparation additional instruments are required; that is, under certain circumstances a repeated change of instruments must take place between preparation instruments and bipolar forceps. If areas of tissue having a high density of vessels are involved, such as tonsils or thyroid glands, a very high degree of bleeding can take place. In order to handle this adequately, it is useful to suction off the emerging blood, in order to allow the bleeding area to coagulate in a well-directed manner.